Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Regardless of Sowers’ effort vs. the Royals, you can’t argue that his time in Cleveland has been unreal. Think about this – the 4 ER vs. the Royals were the most ER he’s given up since JULY 16th. That means he had 9 straight starts giving up 3 ER or less! In 7 of those 9 outings, he went longer than 6 innings, including two CG! His name has been written in pen (if not permanent marker) for that 2007 rotation for about 6 weeks.

Why is Kouzmanoff not getting AB’s, at least at DH? Is this an indication that the Tribe doesn’t think he’s ready to take over 3B? Or are they trying to keep his trade value high for the off-season by having his phenomenal 2006 minor league numbers stand on their own (not to mention a few ML HR’s)? Something that bears watching over the last 20 games or so.

Terry Pluto had some interesting thoughts on “More Sports with Les Levine” this week. He said that he expects the Indians to be more active on the trade market than in FA, mainly because (as we’ve looked at) the FA market is dreadful at the positions they’re looking for. He said that they’ll look for guys with manageable contracts, with multiple years left that can fill their holes. A caller asked him is Jose Vidro fit that description, to which Pluto responded, “Absolutely, that’s the type of players the Indians will look at”. Remember, this is the guy that was given unlimited access to Shapiro/Antonetti and their decision-making processes of the past few seasons in “Dealing”.

Watching the way that this Front Office has dealt with its top prospects, does anyone else see Adam Miller playing the Jeremy Sowers role next year? Start him in Buffalo, build his confidence, then use him to bolster the rotation around July, using the first half of 2007 to find out where the weak link might be.

In Akron, Miller finished the season at 15-6 with a 2.56 ERA and 157 K’s to 43 BB’s in 153 2/3 innings. Miller is that classic RH power pitcher, and would slot nicely between C.C. and Sowers in the rotation going forward.

Following the Sowers-Miller path is Chuck Lofgren in Kinston, the High A team for the Tribe. Lofgren, who won’t turn 21 until January, went 17-5 with a 2.32 ERA and 125 K’s to 54 BB’s in 139 2/3 innings. WOW! That’s comparable to the numbers that Miller put up 2 years ago (at Lake County, then Kinston) to put him on the map.

Where Miller will start 2006 as the Bisons’ ace, Lofgren will start the year as the Aeros’ ace. Between the two of them, who wins the Bob Feller Award for top Minor League pitcher?

To the question in the last comments section of who may be in the running for naming rights for the Jake this off-season, here are the Fortune 500 Companies Headquartered in NE OH (Greater Cleveland & Akron). They are listed in order of annual revenue:GoodyearProgressiveFirst EnergyEatonNational City BankParker HannifanSherwin WilliamsKeyCorpLubrizolNacco IndustriesPolyOneRPM InternationalAleris InternationalSmucker’sAmerican GreetingsJo Ann StoresMedical MutualCleveland-CliffsApplied Industrial TechnologiesAgilysysLincoln ElectricInvacareThe new name could come from a larger company not headquartered in NE OH (Continental comes to mind), but if the name becomes something like AT & T Field or Verizon Wireless Park, I may reconsider my Season Tix.

The new TV season is starting soon and the only shows that I can say I’ll make a point of watching are going to be “The Office” and “Lost”. Anybody have any suggestions for anything I’m missing. Somebody told me that “How I Met Your Mother” is funny, but I don’t know if it’s DVR-worthy. One thing’s for sure, the whole pregnant wife thing means that the DVR will be in overdrive for the Fall and Winter. I need something to sprinkle in there between the DiaBride’s “Grey’s Anatomy”, “ER”, and “House” – can you say “Medical Drama”?

After the Saints took the Browns behind the wood shed on Sunday, I’m considering following Aston Villa, Randy Lerner’s team in the English Premier League. Lerner, with his billions, has to have a successful football team somewhere, right?

A few FA relievers to keep an eye on this off-season, in addition to current Brewers closer Francisco Cordero:LHRPSteve KlineRay KingMike Stanton

RHRPOctavio DotelJustin SpeierMike Timlin

After Sunday, when the Browns and Packers played so poorly (the DiaBride is from WI), I wonder if I can subject my own flesh and blood to this suffering. Throw in the fact that the Tribe’s closing in on 60 years since a WS championship and I’m setting this child up for a major inferiority complex.

With tix to Wednesday’s game, I’ll let you know if attendance at the Jake (people at the game, not tickets sold) tops 5K.

Posted by
Paul Cousineau

11 comments:

As ballpark nicknames go, how does "The Key" grab you? How about "The Nat City"? One of these is likely what we'll be hearing next spring when the Cleveland Indians' ballpark name changes from Jacobs Field.

Inside Business has been informed from knowledgeable sources inside both KeyCorp and National City Corp. that Northeast Ohio's two largest financial institutions are in a bidding war over the naming rights to Jacobs Field, a moniker that expires at the end of this season.

Key already has its name on Key Arena in Seattle, where the NBA's Seattle Supersonics play, and its signage is evident in The Jake.

National City does not have its name on a sports structure, although it has sponsored an entrance to Cleveland Browns Stadium and is the football team's "official bank."

"We consider a lot of opportunities on an ongoing basis to enhance the visibility of our brand," says National City Corp. spokesperson Kristen Baird Adams. "[Some months back] we engaged in some discussions with the Indians, but beyond that it wouldn't be appropriate to discuss any details."

Key pitched us a similar response when asked if baseball fans would be pushing turnstiles at "Key Field" next year.

"I don't have any comment on your query," wrote William Murschel, senior manager of corporate relations for KeyCorp, in an e-mail. "It's a fact, however, that Key is a longtime supporter of the Indians and has been a major sponsor, the banking home of the Cleveland Indians, since Jacobs Field was built."

The Indians were also keeping quiet as of press time.

"Yes, the name does expire after the 2006 season," says Bob DiBiasio, longtime spokesman and director of public relations for the Cleveland Indians. "We are indeed in conversation with a number of companies relative to the naming rights issue. Unfortunately, I cannot share any specifics beyond that at this time."

Cleveland Indians President Paul Dolan told IB in a February interview that the naming rights for Jacobs Field would be a high priority in the off-season, which will begin after the Tribe's final game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Oct. 1. Even seven months ago there were already companies vying for the rights.

"There's extraordinary interest in the club," Dolan said in February. "It is a substantial commitment, both in terms of dollars and years. It's a special partnership."

Btw, interesting comment by Dolan...."There's extraordinary interest in the club," Dolan said in February. "It is a substantial commitment, both in terms of dollars and years. It's a special partnership."

I hope they aren't thinking about trading Kouzmanoff. At least not yet. I wanna see him and Marte battle it out next season for the starting job. There's actually several positions with situations like this. Usually, these fights make both players play better, raising their trade value, so we can get more from em at the AllStar break.

I like the reservation too, but only if we get a teepee on the homerun porch and send up smoke signals after homers. perhaps some graphics on the scoreboard scalping an opposing player when they are caught stealing? of course, we probably wouldn't see that very much. the 9th inning could be named Custer's Last Stand (brought to you by east coast custard, of course).

Also, if it was named the key, we could all pull out keys and jingle them like ND fans do in South Bend during "key plays"?

Kellen Winslow just couldn't wait for this. You know, the chance to run his mouth. It must have killed him the past few years to be rendered unable to say what's on his mind. I'd argue that being shut up was almost as hard for him to deal with as his injuries.

The Browns against the Bengals wasn't supposed to be the game I'm most intrigued by this weekend. As many of You The Reader know, I had Cincy missing the playoffs, and the reason why was its defense. The Bengals were 28th in the league and survived because it created so many turnovers: 44 in fact, the best in the league. I was skeptical it could happen again. One game against a Chiefs team that had its QB knocked out doesn't change that, but the Bengals' D doesn't appear to be the rollover that many assumed it would.

"The overall perception is the defense is the stepchild," lineman John Thornton told the Cincinnati Inquirer yesterday.

In the rain against a struggling offensive line and without its starting QB, the Bengals had seven sacks, including three from DE Justin Smith and two from LB Robert Geathers.

Next up is the Browns, who have some strut thanks to Winslow's recent comments: "My boy [Leigh] Bodden is gonna shut [Chad Johnson] down, as he did last year … he's the best corner in the league," Winslow told reporters. "It's a big challenge for Leigh, but it's also a big challenge for Chad, so … tell him that."

As much as it must have killed Winslow to not play the past few years, it must have triple-killed him to watch the Browns lose week after week with no confidence, no cockiness. Watch the highlights from the Saints game. He was jawing with the refs, with the Saints. The Browns caught fire when they started throwing Winslow the ball. It'll be interesting to see what happens to Winslow's trap if the Browns keep losing, but for now, they're a fun team to watch and he's the reason why.